Virtual Army Experience

The Virtual Army Experience (VAE) is a mobile US Army simulator created by the Army development team with the digital development handled by Zombie Studios. The interactive exhibit brings the Army’s popular computer game, America’s Army: Special Forces (Overmatch), to a life-size, networked environment to provide visitors with a limited test drive of soldiering. Utilizing a complex set-up of computers, LAN based scenarios, motion simulators, and videos, the VAE is a massive display of technological invention. The VAE was greeted with enthusiasm by the public and the experiential marketing community for its innovative design, use of advanced measurement technology, and its ability to engage visitors through an immersive, entertaining and educational experience. The Army's use of storytelling, and virtual-reality techniques compares favorably with advanced experiences at several theme parks. The dual use of the virtual environment with tracking technology is a potent combination that commercial marketers could learn from, say experts, especially those marketers who target young adults.

The VAE is managed by the Army’s Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis (OEMA) at the United States Military Academy, West Point. OEMA director Colonel Casey Wardynski is the originator of the Army Game Project. The Army spent about $9 million building four versions of the Virtual Army Experience, Col. Wardynski said. He recognized that the appetite of young Americans for electronic entertainment was growing faster than their interest in television and other forms of traditional media. According to Nielsen, three out of four residences with males under 34 have a game system. Col. Wardynski envisioned "using computer game technology to provide the public a virtual soldier experience that was engaging, informative and entertaining."